This month, it decided to keep the benchmark rate at the same range of 4.25% to 4.50%. When interest rates are high, like they are now, the banks have to pay more to borrow money, and so do you, for loans, mortgages, credit cards and more. At the same time, some banks offer better returns for the money and deposits you keep in their institutions.

Rising unemployment will likely be what pulls the trigger for the Federal Reserve to finally begin lowering interest rates again, economists say.

Investors are nearly unanimous in expecting the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold Wednesday, in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. The chart below shows how the central bank has steered policy since the turn of the century,